Elizabeth Curach, former University of Western Sydney Librarian and recipient of a UWS Honorary Fellowship

Liz Curach

Elizabeth Curach was appointed as the University Librarian in 2000, following the unification of the University from its federated structure. She brought with her a wealth of experience and understanding of the tertiary environment, together with a passionate commitment to excellence in service. Critically she gave the Library leadership and direction at a time of major change.

Elizabeth faced a significant challenge in bringing the various campus libraries together which had operated largely independently. In 2001 the Library participated in its first nationally benchmarked client satisfaction survey, falling in the bottom quartile. During the subsequent 11 years client satisfaction with Library services and resources rose and by 2009 it had moved into the top decile and in 2011 ranked first in every category, including overall satisfaction, against benchmark libraries.

In 2003 the Library was awarded the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service and in 2006 the audit by the Australian Universities Quality Agency commended the University “for the significant improvements demonstrated in the Library over a short period of time and exemplary use of benchmarking for monitoring the quality of its services”.

In 2009 the Library received and maintains ISO 9001 certification, a recognition of the Library’s commitment to promoting continuous improvement.

Elizabeth encouraged Library staff to look at the broader University goals, to excel in service delivery to academic colleagues and students, and to ensure that access to scholarly resources supporting the learning, teaching and research endeavours of the UWS community is second to none.

The Board of Trustees of the University of Western Sydney has resolved to confer the award of Honorary Fellow of the University, on Elizabeth Curach in recognition of her distinguished service to the University in the leadership and development of the UWS Library.

Return to New beginnings for UWS spring graduates

Photos: Sally Tsoutas